THE JournalHas NAEP set the bar too high for American students? That's the implication in a new report from the National Superintendents Roundtable and Horace Mann League. According to "How High the Bar?" when results from "nation's report card" proficiency assessments are compared to results from two international assessments and the Common Core, researchers found that the proficiency benchmarks of the National Assessment of Educational Progress would knock out students in almost every country.READ MORE

The New York TimesThe academic gaps between groups of students — the poor and the middle class, or black and Hispanic children and their white and Asian peers — often are examined in broad strokes, across a district or an entire city. But a new analysis from the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School takes a closer look by mapping the achievement gaps within each public elementary school in New York City. The results reveal the challenges of integrating students across the system, and of integrating under one roof.READ MORE

The TennesseanA third of Tennessee teachers find a state-driven process meant to address individual student needs to be ineffective, while implementation of it across the state can vary. That's according to a report focused on Response to Instruction and Intervention's fourth year in Tennessee — RTI, as it is known, is an approach to the identification and support of students with academic deficiencies.READ MORE

By: Susan Winebrenner (commentary) Some years ago, my husband, Dr. Neil Winebrenner, was a superintendent of a school district in suburban Chicago. He knew of all my work in gifted education, and he was prepared to meet a very unusual family. A mom and dad made an appointment to ask for his help in creating a custom school program for their very gifted son, Kurt, who was in 4th grade. They described a child who was extremely capable in almost all subject areas, but was significantly disorganized.READ MORE

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Understanding Your Child Is Our PriorityRectory School is a private school located in Pomfret, Connecticut, with 5-day and 7-day boarding programs for students in grades 5-9. Rectory’s Individualized Instruction Program and personalized learning plans help students with learning disabilities develop skills that enable them to be successful in school and in life.

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Disability ScoopDespite research suggesting that women with disabilities are more likely than others to experience sexual assault on campus, a new federal report finds many universities are unprepared to support these students. Sexual assault prevention efforts at colleges and procedures for assisting those who experience assault on campus often overlook students with disabilities, according to findings released Tuesday in a report from the National Council on Disability, a federal agency that advises the president and Congress on disability policy.READ MORE

Texas TribuneIn the wake of a scathing federal report last month blasting Texas for excluding thousands of students from special education, a wave of accusations has rolled through the state's education community. The federal government admonished the state for creating the exclusionary policy and charged state officials with cleaning up the mess. Gov. Greg Abbott then blamed school districts for shirking their responsibility to teach kids with disabilities.READ MORE

The Hechinger ReportWhen there aren't enough teachers trained to teach students with disabilities, we fail the vulnerable students who most need educators' help. We must help teachers get the training they need to be able to teach all of their students, including students with disabilities.READ MORE

ReutersLow-income children who receive educational support in school and at home from preschool through third grade may be more likely to get a college degree than their peers who don't get extra help during their early years, a U.S. study suggests. For the study, researchers examined data on 1,539 minority youth in high-poverty Chicago neighborhoods who were part of a program designed to give kids small classes, engaging instruction that helps them develop self-control and good communication skills, and encourage parent involvement in education. Kids entered the program at age 3 and received help for just preschool or continuing through third grade. READ MORE

MiddleWeb (commentary)Michelle Russell, a contributor for MiddbleWEb, writes: "Recently, I was walking around the room helping students complete an assignment. One student was off task, looking at something on her phone. I asked the student to start working on the assignment. When she hesitated I said, 'Please put that away, it's not important right now.' She replied, 'Neither is this.'"READ MORE